Le coeur le plus pur: The Purest heart
by April May Rose
Summary: The Raven demands Mythos bring him a pure and beautifull heart, and Ahiru is a more than willing victim to give her heart to Mytho! Who saves Princess Tutu when it's Princess Tutu in trouble? Some raven controlled Mytho x Ahiru and eventual Fakir x Ahiru
1. Chapter 1

Princess Tutu

Chapter of the Fledgling

Act 17.5 最も純粋な中心

le coeur le plus pur

{ The purest heart }

Summary: An episode I demand should have happened! Set after episode 18 when Fakir is likened to the dead knight who murdered his lover. Mythos decides to try and take Ahiru's heart with many consequences from his action. Eventual Fakir x Ahiru, some raven controlled Mytho x Ahiru

This story does sound a little like Moahoa's story '_Princess Rose_ 'but I assure you it is different! The idea of a villain taking a heroine's heart isn't that original, see sailor moon series with the heart snatcher's episode where Venus pretends to be moon to save Usagi's ass and you'll know what I mean. However! I do encourage you, should you like the idea, to go and read '_Princess Rose_' right now as it is s good read. As an afterthought, on those feather things with the raven! I've always imaged they 'pin' the raven to the depths of his lair and their white shining reminds me of the doves which Mythos's sword turns into so it always looked to me like they were part of the enchantment keeping the raven at bay. Note, these feathers also disappear after the raven awakens, perhaps because as the seals they have been broken? Speculate away!

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned princess tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

**------------**

_Once upon a time there was a princess who fell in love with a nobleman,_

_For days all the princess would do was pine for the man._

_One day the man found out and immediately confessed his love for her too._

_The Princess was delighted, she believed she had the world's truest love._

_But the nobleman was actually a wicked man and wanted the princesses' love all to himself._

_For who would not take advantage of the purest heart of all?_

In the Darkness Princess Kraehe waited, surrounded by the shining feathers which sealed the monster Raven away, dormant for more than a decade, left practically helpless by the selfless act of her prince. Soon enough the feathers would disappear, the raven would bereleased. She trembled under the weight of the gloom, clutching her bare shoulders and looking down at the ground, biting her lower lip. Her father had not opened his eyes, so deep was he in contemplation. The Raven had never been one to socialises, even with her his beloved daughter, yet his continued silence for so long meant that when he did at last speak it would be an outburst of his pent up anger and aggression, the result of his loathsome and unheard thoughts.

"father...?" She whispered, her voice a booming echo in the silence.

Too late did she realise the angle of the slant that now open glowing red eyes had narrowed to, the sheer size of the pupils made her visibly quiver. Yet she stayed her ground. Father loved her, Father had given her the one thing she desired most, her prince.

"Silence daughter!""

The voice shuddered, impossible to tell where it came from and all the more terrifying for it. She flinched, as if he had physically hit her and he noticed at once.

"Are you afraid of me daughter? Why is that? Why should you fear the one other of this world who can love such an ugly thing as you? Is it because you have ONCE AGAIN FAILED TO BRING ME A BEAUTIFUL HEART!?"

The monster raven's voice caused the glowing feathers to waver, though never so much as to dislodge and extinguish their ambient light.

"P-please father! The prince and I, we've been trying so hard an-"

"I will not tolerate excuses much longer! Do not whine of you incompetence to me, you have the blood of a noble raven, do not pollute such good fortune with your selfish failures!'

Kraehe fell silent, gasping as the giant claws of her father's mighty foot clamped over her, a razor sharp talon scraping her shoulder and she let out a cry as pain shot down along her arm.

_Tutu!_ She mentally cursed, forcing herself to remain standing under the intense glare of the Monster Raven. _If only the prince did not partially regain himself when she was around. He became himself again...Why? Why did he still see Tutu and think of her like that? She had done everything Father had said. Everything but get him a..._

"A heart Kraehe, a heart! If I do not get a heart it will be you who will suffer my wraith. Do not underestimate me when I say I will show no leniency towards even you, my own daughter."

Kraehe swallowed her fear, wishing only to please the one who had so selflessly helped her as well. She walked closer to the steely edge of the Raven's claw, wrapping an arm around it and caressing it as apologetically as she kind find it in herself.

"Yes father. We'll find you a heart, the prince will know who to go after this time and this time I will not fail you. "

She hugged the monstrous appendage, promising herself not to let him down once again and resolving to leave the discussion of the prince's still existent feelings for tutu for a later time.

The raven nodded his mighty head solemnly, lapsing into a silence which she imagined he would not have given to anyone, bar herself under such conditions. She would get a heart, Mythos would know who would yield one to him so willingly so as to even undermine Tutu's persuasive ideals. But who, besides herself, could ever love Mythos enough to give him her heart?


	2. Chapter 2

Princess Tutu

Chapter of the Fledgling

Act 18.5 最も純粋な中心

le coeur le plus pur

{ The purest heart }

So not allot happened in the last chapter and it was surprisingly short, this one is much longer. As you may have noticed, my chapter titles aren't all that snazzy. This is because it's all part of the one episode; call it a scene change or an ad break in between. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and that you get an idea of what will be happening eventually. I've come to notice how erm...wordy I can be! I want to know if this helps or hinders the story, I'm going to continue writing regardless of reviews but if I can change the writing slightly to make it more enjoyable I don't mind so much. Also! I'm not sure if I should include the various pieces of music which I imagine go with the parts of this fic, I think doing so would make it more fun, you could see the pictures in your head along with the music! But I don't want to interrupt everything with ( play blah blah blah sonata no. Blah ). Please let me know if this would be a good addition, I'd love for people to really 'experience' this episode as much as I do while writing it. So, to preview this new idea how about we all go listen to the princess tutu theme song right now and then begin reading! ^^

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned Princess Tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

**------------**

Sunday was gloomy and overcast, it had rained the night before and the pavement was wet, the atmosphere almost ominous in its refusal to let the sun shine through into the hearts of the people below. The fairytalesque clock struck 8am somewhere out in the dreary weather, knight, raven , prince and princess danced along to a dulled melody, their metal bodies lightly 'ping'ing as raindrop after raindrop hit them. Their alarm had no effect on the grey world, early morning traders continued glowing upwards while telling each other and themselves that no fool would be out and about on such a dismal day, but continued to set up their whares regardless, as they had done every Sunday since a time they couldn't exactly place.

"Mytho..."

Ahiru called to the ceiling above her bed, her tone concerned and worried. What had happened to her prince? She closed her eyes. She could see his face starring back at her but it was not the melancholy, somewhat 'happy' Mytho she remembered and often dreamed of. Instead it was cold and cruel, it smirked not smiled, and those eyes! Where once had been a gentle amber loneliness was an amethyst hue, mocking everything they saw!

Ahiru pouted miserably; trying to change her thoughts to the day that lay ahead she found her thoughts once again back on Mytho. He seemed to no longer even recognise her, even as tutu! Was he lost for good now? How could she return the rest of his heart when it might just be contaminated!? She shook her head repeatedly until it made her dizzy, she couldn't think like that!

"No! Mytho is Mytho and it's only been dyed by raven's blood, he can always go back to being Mytho. I just need to try a little harder. Yeah."

Saying it aloud made her smile, it sounded more definite when it wasn't just her who could hear it. She was right though, Rue and Fakir both seemed pretty sure this would be a hard effect to reverse but with a little patience she knew she could undo it! Then everyone could be happy again!

With a jumping start she swung out of bed, stretching and walking over to the window. Despite the weather a few birds had still gathered on the window ledge, waiting patiently for their duck-human friend to open up the glass and feed them. The moment she did she was swamped with feather and chattering chirps of greeting, hunger and berating for welcoming them in late.

"You guys sure are hungry, not even gloomy skies can keep you away. I wonder if 'Pique and Lillie will also... "

"Wakey Wakey! Oh I bet she isn't even up yet!'

The unmistakable cheerful voice of a female called through the door, quickly followed by a slightly lower pitched voice.

"You can't just bang on the door of someone who's sleeping!"

"Ah, Pique! Lillie!"

Ahiru started, realising she was still in the pyjamas of the prior night. Ah! She had to get dressed, was she already running late for ballet class!? She'd get detention or Mr Cat would, would...She slipped while trying to pull on a shoe, straightening wrinkles out of the grey dress uniform of the academy.

On the other side of the door the conversation picked up volume just a little.

"Ah, can't you hear that rush rush rushing? It's like music to my ears! Hurry hurry Ahiru, you'll be late!"

The door opened, Ahiru stood, clutching the door frame and panting for breath after her Olympic worthy dash to get ready. Lillie stifled a giggle and Pique looked curiously down at her.

"A..hiru? You know today's a public holiday right?

Before Ahiru had time to even contemplate that she needn't have dashed around the room, thereby hurting her knee in the process, she was in a trademark Lillie stranglehold-hug and fighting to breath under the many consoling words of her pigtailed friend.

"But Ahiru can't have a day off, her dancing skills just can't afford it! She has to practice practice practice every day or she'll go back to the probationary class!"

"She can have one day off..."

"No, no she can't! She'll just get worse and worse until even the probationary class is too good for her and her prima ballerina dreams are a sad memory, even the shady delinquent Fakir will never notice her! "

Despite the lack of oxygen Ahiru felt a blush run up her cheeks at the mention of Fakir, why would she ever want him to notice her! Sure both Pique and Lillie thought she was a Fakir girl now but it wasn't true! She still loved Mytho...right? Her lungs ached from a lack of air and she gave a desperate cough. This seemed enough to get Lillie to release her hold on the frazzled girl and watch her slide to the floor.

"Oh no, she's been crushed under the weight of her broken dreams!'

"That's your fault."

"No way!?"

**------------**

The three friends walked along the wet pavement of Goldcrown, the weather did little to effect their moods. It had taken Ahiru a few minutes to wake up and by then both Pique and Lillie had wanted to be off and into town. Thus she still had her uniform on, feeling all the more out of place for it. They'd already run the errand which Lillie and Pique had thought up for the morning, namely Pique looking for new toes shoes which they would need to begin practising in, and Lillie taking the opportunity to tell duck how sorry she was that little Ahiru would never be graceful or diligent enough in her practice to don the envious footwear. Now the trio wandered round without aim and picking their way through various light conversation topics which happened to mostly revolve around Fakir, Mytho and each of their progress in dance.

Ahiru, who had little to add to the conversation, simply listened to her two friends talk between themselves, happy to spend the day with them, even if it meant that at least for a little while that Mytho and his missing heart were far from her mind.

"I don't know, I heard Fakir did a marvellous job in the drama division's play about that night a few weeks back."

"Ah, Fakir would make such a perfectly purposeless knight! His shady actions make him the best candidate for a man who goes around lobbing off even his own lover's head in pursuit of a cause!"

"I thought you said he was a shady delinquent with a mysterious aura worthy of batt-Eh?"

Ahiru, not looking where she was going, bumped into Pique's back before it clicked that her friends had stopped for one reason or the other.

"I-Isn't that the great Senior Mytho?"

""W-What!?

Ahiru leaned forward. Sure enough both Mytho and Rue were standing together in the shade of an alley; from the look of it they were having a private conversation. It was impossible to not notice, even from this distance, the purple shade of Mytho's eyes.

"Ah, they'll see us!"

Lillie giggled, dragging them all behind a bush to spy on the two from a perfect vantage point.

"What did he want?"

"He's angry, he's getting so restless."

Rue leaned closer to Mytho, though she was disappointed when he moved only further away from her. Her eyes were downcast; she had expected Mytho to know what to do and how to do it quickly. All he could say was exactly what her father had told her though.

"I'll get him his heart. A beautiful and pure one to dye black."

Rue nodded, steeling her heart up against his cold smile. Soon he would love her and only her and she would wait forever and a day to see him smile like he had before for her, like the night of the fire festival.

"We should choose more willing hearts; ones that not even Tutu could interfere with."

Mytho's smile didn't falter; he grabbed her hand and drew her closer, raising her chin so their eyes met. For a moment her heart fluttered, was the raven's blood finally working itself through entirely?

" Rue, don't criticize me. After all, I'm the only one who can help your father right? If it wasn't for me you'd just be the useless raven's daughter, born into a human body. I'll choose the right heart, you couldn't even choose one correctly when you tried. I'm sure Fermio's heart would have tasted oh so pure..."

He spat at her sarcastically. Rue huffed, snatching her hand from Mytho and breaking eye contact. How could she be foolish enough to think he might have actually been...

"I can't hear them!"

Lillie whined, all but launching herself out the bush in an effort to hear the two secretive 'lovers'.

Pique seemed more compassionate for them, recognising an argument when she saw one.

"I think they're having a serious problem..."

"Ah! A problem between the wonderful Mytho and Rue!? Ahiru," She grabbed the poppy-headed girl before Ahiru could make an escape.

"Now's your chance! You have to go tell Mytho, confess your impossible love, no matter how high the chance he'll say no. Follow your dreams, never hide your sadness from failure and then you can start all over again!"

With that finally said Lillie gave Ahiru one large push and sent her awkwardly tripping into the open under the startled stare of Mytho and Rue.

Consciously or not when Ahiru emerged from the bushes Rue grabbed onto Mytho's arm, though he continued to stare somewhat amusedly at the addled girl before them. Immediately she began babbling.

"Ah Senior Mytho, Rue! Funny running into you both here on this sunny day! Ah, what I mean to say is this gloomy day! Not that seeing you makes it gloomy, just the sky is very cloudy and it makes it kinda grey which makes the whole place a bit depressing, not that I'm actually depressed or anything! I just like it more when it's sunny, of course I'm sure it's also good when it rains because all the plants and animals get a drink of water and the dams are refilled and-"

"Please be quite. "

Ahiru looked back at Rue whose expression had gone dark, she could almost see the resemblance between the school girl and the black clad princess Kraehe. Despite how close she knew both Mytho and Rue to be, for some reason she felt a tension in the air between them. Had they actually been fighting like Pique had said?

"I hope I wasn't interrupting any-"

"You're Ahiru."

It was the first thing Mytho had said to her since he'd begun to try and steal hearts, other than when he talked to her when she was Tutu of course. It caught her unawares and instead of voicing her reply she simply nodded. Even Rue was taken aback by his talking to her. Had he remembered who he was? That they were friends? His eyes were still and inky indigo but was it possible he was regaining himself?

Mytho left Rue's side, walking assuredly up to Duck and placing a hand on her head, now she knew it wasn't the Mythos she remembered. He'd never been that comfortable with their friendship before.

"How long have I known you?"

Ahiru swallowed, her mouth dry. Why was Mytho only now talking to her? Had Rue asked him to? Wait! What he'd figure out who she was!?

"I-I'm in the ballet division too with you, Rue and Fakir. Since the term started."

She mumbled, her eyes focused on his shoe instead, tracing the outline into the pavement with her eyes. '_It doesn't matter that he once called you his friend, it doesn't matter. Nope. He's not really the real Mytho'_ She mentally repeated to herself.

Mytho seemed to lose interest almost at once, walking back over to Rue, though the smile remained plastered to his face as it had before.

"You should say something next time, we should talk."

He laughed a little before walking off with Rue, leaving Ahiru alone to face the torment of her friend's fifth degree interrogation.

"What was that all about?"

Rue sniffed, taking a lasting peak over her shoulder as a pigtailed blonde and pink haired, ponytailed girl emerged from the same bushes Ahiru had. Eavesdropping hmm?

"That girl. How long has she liked me?"

Rue remained silent, unsure how to best answer him. Ahiru was Tutu, the princess who was intended to be the prince's love, how could she answer that? She shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Mythos smirked, he knew of his dark princess's jealous streak and knew that to aggravate her further would only hinder his plans as they slowly developed.

"Really? I thought you, Princess Kraehe, knew all her rivals."

Rue huffed, Ahiru? That no talent ballerina hiding behind the talent of a fairytale character? A rival for Mytho? Not anymore at least, not since the raven's blood had ensnared him.

They walked further, heading towards the dorms now when at the last second he held her hand, twirling her around and leaving his hand at the small of her back, his lips close enough to whisper into her ear.

"Tell your father I have found us a heart. Our next victim is Ahiru."

Rue gasped, though she remained unmoving in her prince's arms. A-Ahiru was Mytho's next victim? Could Princess Tutu really lose her heart?


	3. Chapter 3

Princess Tutu

Chapter of the Fledgling

Act 18.5 最も純粋な中心

le coeur le plus pur

{ The purest heart }

Mwahaha I have reviews! Seriously I was expecting maybe one or two but I have a small handful and a few more faves and alerts, thank you everybody for encouraging me to write! I love hearing all your comments and hereby dedicate this fanfic to all the people out there who can honestly say they can't wait for every update. Thanks so much! Anyways, another chapter that ends with rue's POV..heh heh. Sorry, not much happens once again. I really wasn't 'feeling'this when it was written so Pique and Lillie are kinda strained. Either way, I do hope you enjoy chapter will have fakir for all his fans too!

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned Princess Tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

**------------**

"M-m-m-m-Mytho!'

Ahiru stuttered, confused and surprised by the prince's behaviour. Mytho wanted to talk to her again, a part of her heart skipped a beat thinking of it, but why did it feel like the foreshadowing of a storm? She looked down at the pendant around her neck, it hadn't glowed in such a long time and even now it lay dormant. What was happening?

"Ahiru! "

Lillie burst from the bushes, closely followed by a more subdued Pique.

"Ahiru Ahiru, you confessed at last didn't you? Your dreams couldn't even contain themselves and you just spilled your feelings forth out in a mess right? "

"You were right there, she didn't do anything like that."

"Oh no, she's lost her chance!"

Lillie sighed at the misfortune to lose such a moment, placated only by her pink haired friend after the promise of further moments which their red haired chum could confess.

"That was pretty weird of Mytho and Rue right though?" Pique asked, addressing Ahiru this time. So someone besides her had noticed as well.

"Normally Mytho is quite, even around Rue but he really seemed to pick out Ahiru. Rue didn't even say anything either."

The trio fell silent for a moment, it was true that Mytho and Ahiru weren't on the worst of terms but his talking to her, especially while with Rue was something out of the ordinary.

"Do I smell...a battle!?"

Lillie laughed again, a glint in her eye, taking a victorious stance over the group.

"Oh Ahiru, you'll just have to fight Pique all over again now that she's so jealousy that the great Mytho has chosen you over her!"

"Eh!? I never said that!"

Pique piped up, geared up to defend the honour of her Fakir girl reputation.

"you'll have to train super super hard to even catch up with one Pique training session Ahiru, but you have to do your best! I'll be right here to comfort you and-"

"Ah, no!"Aahiru put up her hands defensively against her Lillie's enthusiasm for this particular cat fight. Even if Mytho did change a bit, everything else was always going to be the same.

"I don't think fighting Pique will do much. Besides Pique's well and truly over Mytho now, right Pique?"

Pique nodded in agreement. Her affair with Mytho had been brief and to this day she couldn't entirely figure out exactly why she'd been so hung up on him.

Battle abated Ahiru, Lillie and Pique continued down the cobbled streets, though not once did they again see Mytho and Rue.

'_Pique's right though. Why did Mytho stop so suddenly, even while he and Rue were talking? Especially just to talk to me.'_

A loopy grin and large blush rose over Ahiru's face, even if it was a little strange of Mytho, he had still said he wanted to talk to her. Maybe she could, what if she talked to him and she found out she could help him? Maybe even rue would be there and they could both work together to help Mytho!

'_The way you are now is the real Mytho'_

Ahiru squinted when she thought of that. Kraehe...Rue. How could she really think that? Mytho could only be the real Mytho if he had his heart. She could no longer tell how much help she could or couldn't expect of rue, she might even try to stop her talking to Mytho. Mmm, if only Fakir were...

"Fakir!"

She said out loud, punching the palm of her hand with her fist.

"Eh, Ahiru, you ok?"

Pique asked, a little worried for the normally cheery girl who, for today at least, was far quieter than the normal would suggest.

Fakir would know what to do! She could ask him!

"I-I gotta go. Meet with you guys later!?"

Ahiru called, turning around and running in the basic direction of Fakir's house.

'"You're going to Fakir's house!?"

Lillie called back taking off after Ahiru, the imagined meeting of the mysterious Fakir and Ahiru's meeting would produce enough fire power and entertainment for her to last the remaining day.

"W-Wait!"" Pique yelled, catching up to Lillie in a breathless burst of energy.

"Do...Do..es she even..know...where he lives?"

Lillie looked back at the direction Ahiru had taken and laughed. Of course, only Ahiru would charge off to meet a man she knew not where he would be!

The raven pair had disappeared not far over the ridge of the next hill, a black feather sailing to the ground where they had stood. Now, In the shadowy dorm of Princess Kraehe the two were at odds.

Rue sat by the curtained off window, she didn't have to pull aside the dark drapes to know that outside ravens were congregating along the ledge, their eyes aglow as they waited for word from their princess...and prince, she corrected herself.

She ran a brush distractedly through her hair, the silver of the handle occasionally reflecting the light which came through the only gap in the curtains, sending light dancing around the room. She remained in silence until Mytho came up, wrapping his arms cage like over her shoulders and bending low so their heads where on the same level. He manoeuvred her hand, angling the brush to reflect his own eyes at her.

"You don't want me to take her heart"

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She moved her hand, she didn't have to see his eyes to know that he was amused by her resistance to take this heart. Of course, he thought her to have some pathetic failing for this girl who, though he had no recollection of it, been in their class for some time. If only! How was he to know he was proposing to take the heart of the one and only princess tutu? That if he took her heart he would never get his, never love her as much as he could with that heart. But how could she explain? She bit her lip, knowing her prince was impatient for an answer.

"What if I told you..."

She stopped, could she tell him who princess tutu really was? What would he do if he knew? If Father knew? Her face contorted into one of grief, he noticed at once and released her, this time he really was laughing.

"Don't tell me, you think you might be...friends!?''

He clutched his side laughing as he walked away from her, she understood why. No one would like her, let alone love her. The Raven's daughter had no friends, only her prince. Still, he laughed, only stopping when he realised she wasn't in on the joke any longer. He sat down on the beds, almost like the effort of smiling and laughing was an extravagant waste of his energy.

"Silly crow..." He sighed, and for a moment in his weakness he let his other side show, he jolted up in pain as he clutched his chest where his hart should have been.

''Urgh!...''

_Ahiru_

_She was helping him find water for Rue._

_Ahiru_

_Dancing with her before the fire festival_

_Ahiru_

_Always smiling, always happy. Always worried for everyone._

_Ahiru_

''_Will you keep being friendly with me? You're the only friend I have that I can tell everything to.'_

'"Mytho! Mytho!?''

Rue said, rushing to his side and clasping him close. She watched as his eyes faded between darkest purple and liquid amber, the internal war between himself and the raven's blood ravaged his conscious.

"No...You're not me!"

Mytho gasped, doubling over from the effort.

"No...Not Ahiru. What are you doing to me?"

Unable to stand it any longer Rue was in a moment Princess Kraehe, she kneeled over her prince, entwining her hands over his chest, circling where his heart should be and by doing so calling to the Raven's blood within it.

"Do not trouble yourself my prince. Another heart...we'll find another."

She kissed his forehead, stroking his white hair away from his face.

He opened his eyes, no longer did they change colour, nor was he in pain.

"No. We'll still take Ahiru's. Do not prove to be as useless as your father imagines. Her heart is..."

He left his sentence unfinished; Rue had never tasted the sweet scent of a heart dyed black. So sweet, infectious even. In that brief moment he had seen Ahiru, he had known her heart would be the most intoxicating of hearts when blackened. Almost as sweet as his own would be...

Kreahe sighed, her tutu disappearing in a whirl of black feathers. She could say 'no' to Mytho just as well as the wind could tell an army to cease their march. Was she really so useless? But who could she turn to? There was no one. Rue had friends who might have once been of help. She remembered a night which seemed far off, wandering the streets with an annoying duck-like girl who had refused to call her by her proper title. If she had still been Rue, maybe she could have warned them. But now there could be no saving Tutu, an indirect save for Mytho as well. It really was hopeless.


	4. Intermission

Princess Tutu

{ Intermission }

Oh god, begin your flames! -__- I've been wanting to write my Tutu fic more but NOTHING is coming to me at the moment. My muse and I are at odds wich isn't good at all! Need to watch Tutu more. So for now you have an intermission! The only Tutu related thing my brain would spit out and I felt bad for no updates so I put this up. I really liked Autor and Rue as a couple, the misfits of the anime together. He loved her when apparently nobody could and for this she lets his heart remain free, it's the first hint we get that Rue isn't everything she thought she was. Now see I have a theory that if this little town wasn't stuck in a fairytale loop ( No Mytho or Ahiru and Fakir isn't a knight ) then Autor and Rue would have been a couple. Not a big 'happily ever after couple' just the couple who loves each other and spends the rest of their days together, a normal couple. Unfortunately normal isn't really in Drosselmeyer's reach so their 'real' romance was written out and replaced with this Mytho obsession. Don't get me wrong, Mytho x Rue FOREVER but this is the couple I'd be rooting for if this was just a normal dance high school anime. XD Did that make any sense? Anyways here goes, a breif story on Autor's feelings for Rue. In this version he, like Pique and Lillie, has forgotten the characters which starred in the anime but not the feelings which they ignited. Please enjoy - your normal fan fiction should resume shortly!

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned Princess Tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

**------------**

It was a feeling he couldn't quiet remember. Someone was missing, yet the person who wasn't there hadn't entirely been 'here' to begin with. In his dreams he sought her, a memory which slipped through his grasp and he woke up wondering why he felt this way.

He called the library his home during school hours, yet his heart was no longer with the words he read. He turned pages as if looking for her, flittering amongst the pages where he couldn't see. And then he found her, a happy princess amongst the story or a Prince and Raven, with these pages came the torn chapters of his memory, but none so strong as the brief time he had spent with her.

The new memories brought pain with them, as the fondness of finding friends anew stole away he remembered one important detail. She was the Prince's Queen now. Beautifull Rue, kind Rue. The princess of a fairytale, it befitted her so. So had what he felt been real? Could he love a story or was it simply the ink which had somehow added him into the text which made him feel this way?

There was a dull ache were none should have been. He knew it to be false, he couldn't yearn for something that was never meant to be. Once upon a time this town had been the birthplace of fiction, denying reality and logic. His love had been declared false, yet couldn't this falseness be the whisper of truth which was denied him in a fairytale world? A love better left for reality had no place in a Drosselmeyer tragedy. Had the world been any different would the Raven princess still have gone away and rejected his loving pleas?

The questions stirred him from his seat, he slammed the book cover over in vexation. He too, like her, had not fit into the tale as a whole, yet his happy ending too was absent from these pages! How cruel she had been to him! She alone had listened to his so called 'crackpot theories' and she hadn't laughed or told him to stop playing games. She had played along even! Smiled and lead him further away from fools that did taunt him, and in her smiles and silent words he found a love he himself could not truly understand. But she had let him go uncorrected, theories left unproven. She would have known, could have know but had remained distant, yet he had never felt so open to anyone than her that night. All for vain.

He sat in defeat, drowned by the pressing weight. The greatest romance of his life and it had finished the day it had begun, only to be forgotten by it's only two participants. His hand strayed to the book, opening to the end this time to a page of white feathers and a white haired prince in a flying carriage. There was Rue, smiling and content. She would never smile for him again bar from the pages of this book. Inscribed beneath the happy couple was simply 'and the both lived happily ever after.' in gentle sloping handwriting. He sighed and sunk deeper into his chair.

"Ah but Rue, how could you not know how much I love you too?"

**------------**

Oh great another Tutu fic idea in my head now xD I have 2 sequel ideas all tucked up in my head but I'm not sure I'd ever type them. I'll consider it more AFTER I actually finish this one yes? Anyways next week will hopefully be your normal fic. Bare with me please! ^^


	5. Chapter 4

Princess Tutu

Chapter of the Fledgling

Act 18.5 最も純粋な中心

le coeur le plus pur

{ The purest heart }

Bah, belated update I know and I'm so sorry! Thanks everyone who reviewed as it was you guys who got me over the writer's block. What can I say? I hate Fakir's character when it comes to writing it. Maybe he's to realistic when compared to everyone else. He goes through more than anyone else at least. Accepting his coming death, trumping it, facing his best friend had no heart, losing the best friend, accepting tutu is Ahiru who is a duck, accepting and using his links to the evil Drosselmeyer. He really does allot and on top of that he has his own orphaned past and still finds time to feel everything he does for Mytho, Charon and Ahiru. There's just so much to get from him that he's impossible to channel! First chapter I wrote without dvd reference, I hope it's ok – the dvd always gets me motivated ^^;;

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned Princess Tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

**------------**

"Fakir, Fakir!"

The door to the humble abode burst open from the force of a surprised, flustered and somewhat confused red head.

SMASH

"Idiot!"Fakir shouted, though Ahiru couldn't understand why until she took in the scene. Apparently Fakir had been having a relaxed drink, well until her arrival. Unprepared for the burst of noise and movement Fakir had not only dropped the water jug but it had landed on the floor and fell apart into various shards. Shaking his head Fakir bent down and began picking up the broken glass with an alarming pace, he'd cut himself if he didn't slow down a little.

"Oh, oh! I didn't mean, I-I'm so clumsy. Be careful Fakir."

At that moment Fakir did cut his finger on a small shard, the blood streaked across his finger, and like the knight he had once been he ignored it and continued to pick up the pieces.

"I should be helping shouldn't I, I'm so sorry. I'll get some bandai-"

Fakir shot her a glare, the kind that said no such help was needed and that as inconvenient as the mess was it was not unexpected of Ahiru's presence.

An awkward silence followed in which Ahiru knew not if she should help, sit down or stay where she was. Why was she such a burden to Fakir? Lately it really did seem like she was doing nothing and now she was only getting Fakir hurt...Without a word she bent down to pick up the last shards.

_If only collecting Mytho's heart shards were this easy...Then everyone would be happy and I wouldn't have to trouble Fakir anymore._

Noticing her unusual silence Fakir looked up, their eyes caught together for the first time since her arrival, like he was only just seeing her as actually being there in the room. She noticed a sheen to his forehead, had he been working out the back and that's why he needed the water? Surprisingly he also hadn't commented on her helping him regardless of what he'd said earlier. She could smell the sweat lingering just under the casual T-shirt, why was he so close? When had he come that close?

"Fa-Fakir?"

He blinked stupidly at her, his face went quickly from intense in thought to heavy frown.

"It's fine, I'll do it myself. Idiot."

He pushed her hands aside; the glass slid down her hand and sliced her palm open.

"Ah!"

Ahiru let the fragments drop, grabbing her hand and holding it close. Now Fakir stopped, of course he'd only stop when she was hurt.

"This is why I told you not to help!"

He berated her, standing and yanking her up on her feet using the undamaged hand. She sulked immediately.

"I wouldn't have cut myself if you'd just been nicer before and not pushed me aside."

"If you'd listened in the first place you wouldn't have had to cut yourself" he rolled his eyes and grabbed some bandages while pulling her into the kitchen. She pulled her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry, he yanked her arm a little harder and made her whine; not that she'd give him the satisfaction of hearing her complain.

The tap soothed the pulsing and when the blood has washed away it turned out to have been a tiny cut. All the while she did this he stood next to her overseeing her wrapping the bandage and correcting it when she did it wrong.

_What's with him, like I'd know how to bandage a hand I'm just a little duck...What does he mean by looming there anyways? _

He huffed unhappily and crossed his arms over his chest before finally talking civilly to her.

"You're such a pain, Do you even have a reason to be here?" Under his breath Ahiru distinctly heard him mutter 'Day off of school and I still have to see your bird-brained face...'

Her reason for coming hit her, how could she have forgotten!? Ah, how much time had she wasted? The clock said it was only an hour since she'd seen Mytho and Rue together...Or her with Mytho...together. Her face burned.

"Well?"

"Mytho, Mytho. Something's wrong with him, he's not acting himself!"

She blushed, realising how obvious statement, even Fakir looked bored by this remark. Obviously the weight she had hoped to be behind her words her not been there.

"I think Rue and Mytho are having a fight..."

Fakir looked startled now, noticing her downcast look. But was it because something bad had happened to Mytho or because her friends were unhappy? The girl had a heart as big as any eagle but Fakir could hardly understand her sadness at their quarrel which she felt. How could she be sorrowful for them when the two both purposefully caused her heartache on almost every occasion?

"Fighting?" He repeated, a little restrained. His mind a tumble of thoughts.

Ahiru nodded and waited for him to ask why when thought so, instead he continued to stare at her and she took this as invitation enough.

"I-I don't know why. But they looked like they were fighting and then when Mytho saw me he talked to me! He said he even wanted to talk again!" She didn't tell him how it'd made her feel to be noticed by her prince again, to have him walk away from Rue like that night on the lake which felt an age ago.

Grabbing her shoulders Fakir was furious and his tone showed it.

"You talked to him, alone? Do you know how dangerous that could be?"

"Pique and Lillie were with me!"

Fakir shook his head, Pique herself had been a victim of Mytho and Lillie talked big but he wasn't sure how she'd cope when faced with a furious princess Kreahe. For some reason, something about this clicked with him, it had to be heart related. He released Ahiru and began to pace the room in a hurry.

"What did he say? Did he mention anything about anyone? Maybe the next victim? What did Kreahe do?"

His intense glare and barrage of question made Ahiru anxious, more unfortunately she couldn't even answer his questions. Should he have talked more? For some reason talking to Fakir had only made her worry more! Deliberately she tried to look for a different explanation.

_Please, no more hearts Mytho!  
_"Maybe, he's remembering himself Fakir! What if He talked to me because he's fighting it? Maybe if I talk to him he'll come back!"

Fakir looked doubtful, the idea that Kreahe would leave her prized prince in a situation which would so easily reverse the raven's blood effect was unlikely. If it in fact could be reversed.

"What did he say Ahiru?"

"He just said hello, then walked off with Rue. They didn't fight after that."

Uneasiness fell into the pits of their stomachs. Neither could see anything really evil in this change but it spoke of something ominous yet to come. Sighing Ahiru finally spoke up, voicing a question neither had yet asked but would need to be handled.

"Do I talk to him again?" Her words trembled slightly, in her heart she wished he would say she could. Even if it wasn't Mytho – maybe it was? Fakir's answer was written on his face though.

"No. Maybe he doesn't want to do anything, maybe it was something Kreahe cooked up. I wouldn't approach him alone though. "He got up and began to show Ahiru out, the girl in her own reveries. Rethinking what he'd just said though he made an amendment to it.

"And alone means without me. I don't know if Pique and Lillie should be mixed into this again. There's no telling what could happen if someone not involved in this was involved." The message and warning was obvious, if she wanted to talk to Mytho, Fakir had to be there. If it was anyone else they may get hurt. Ahiru nodded and began to make a reply only to find herself facing a busy street with the door shut behind her.

"I guess it really didn't mean anything after all huh."

Mumbling this she set off in what hoped to be the right direction.


	6. Chapter 5

Princess Tutu

Chapter of the Fledgling

Act 18.5 最も純粋な中心

le coeur le plus pur

{ The purest heart }

Double update!! Just to make up for the previous lack of updates ^^;; I'm kinda at a loss as to what happens next but I have a brief idea. Let's take a vote, who think Rue should go to Fakir for help and who thinks not? I was going for not but the idea for her going to see him is more definitive than the one for if she's not. Anyways I hope this is an ok chapter, raven infused Mytho was harder to do than I imagined. I wish I could write more from his perspective –sigh-

So who thinks i should also write a sequel to princess Tutu? It's be allot darker trust me, lotsa heart ache too. I think it'd almost do Drossy proud when it comes to Tragedy. It'd involve a few OC's and all the old faves. More Fakir x Ahiru, Rue x Mytho, Rue x Autor. My OC is a bit of a SOB (literally! Hee hee get it? Spoiler for teh sequel idea. ) Anyway enough rambling, on with the fic!

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned Princess Tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

**------------**

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight"

Mr. Cat's paws clapped in time to the steps he called out, each number representing a different position or pose. In lines the students of his beginning ballet class pulled and stretched and wavered as he walked past and inspected each of them, his tail swishing back and forth as a metronome, This one was too strained looking, bad turnout, hands were not reaching far enough, back not arched enough, hands incorrectly positioned, sitting on floor...sitting on floor!?

Walking back he heard the distinct voices of three pupils were infamous for not only tardiness but bad behaviour and more pointedly and entirely incorrect form.

"Senior Mytho isn't here today, neither was Rue. You don't think it's because of the argument do you?

"Oh yes of course, it's all Ahiru's fault! Soon Rue and Mytho will be forever unhappy and in his dismay Mytho will turn to out poor Ahiru. Oh Ahiru, you'll finally win your love. Just as long as you don't try and dance with him ever or he'll realise just how horrible you are and remember why you never had a chance in the first place. Oh Ahiru, don't cry over your already lost cause of love!"

"Ahiruuuuu"

A distinct cat-like screech issued from behind the last of the trio, for some reason she could sense the dark aura surrounding the person behind her.

"Gossiping AND sitting out of class? If you girls don't start showing some form of interest in ballet I will force you all to-"

The girls screeched together, Pique and Lillie dragging Ahiru to their bar and starting the stretches, regardless that the rest of the class had already finished stretching and was going on with Mr. Cat's planned practice.

"N-N-No! Mr. Neko!

"We were just saying how much our feet hurt from all the practice we got in last night" Pique tried, laughing awkwardly.

"Yes, even Ahiru tried, but she got so tired and left early. Poor Ahiru she just can't follow all these complex steps can you Ahiru?"

Mr cat's eyes gleamed as his head turned 180 degrees to face the trembling pupil.

"Then Ahiru has no excuse shall have to give her after school detention. I trust you know where the mop and bucket are?"

Ahiru nodded apathetically while Pique glared at the deliriously happy Lillie.

"Oh poor Ahiru, now you have a detention!"

"That's your fault..."

"No way!"

A gentle chuckle slid through the classroom, followed by the steady clap of gentle hands. A shiver ran up Ahiru's spine as she recognised the life which bordered between malicious and amused.

Senior Mytho strode into the room, his uniform looking impeccable and his eyes a sprightly purple. Rue hovered by the door way in her usually red practice costume which marked her as the prima ballerina of the advanced class, pride of the school.

Almost every girl turned to look at him. Everyone except Ahiru, her insides squirmed remembering Fakir's advice. But were the nerves from the possibility of his being here just for her or because of the same uneasiness she had felt yesterday?

"The student practice really hard here."

Mytho remarked to Mr Cat, eyes going over the crowed before him in a way not unlike that of a wolf looking at a slaughter house. Behind him rue stiffened obviously before coming forward and looping a hand around his arm. It didn't take a genius to observe her stance as being both possessive and protective. Protective from what?

"That's so they can try and be in the advance class with us." She tittered away bemusedly at her prince, as if any of the little nobodies in this class could compare to the advanced class. Rue had only ever once been challenged and like many challenges before the challenger had lost. Even more interestingly enough she had failed with the help of a heart shade; she really had been a nobody.

Sparking the gossip of the day, Mytho took his hand away from Rue much to her annoyance and took a last sweep of the classroom before settling on Ahiru's shaky form. For someone with such a pure heart he wondered why she was so awful at her chosen skill. Perhaps it was her determination that made her shine like a jewel among the garbage.

"I'm afraid the advanced class doesn't start for another half hour."

Mr Cat told his students, though he was used to the advanced class showing up to review some of their peers every once in a while. Some even liked to practice with them to remind themselves of how they had started and to refresh on the basics.

Mytho nodded rather than reply and without further ado strolled leisurely between the rows, finding joy in the way each girl tried harder the closer he came and thus ruining themselves in his eyes. _Only someone with a selfish heart would ever try and rob everyone else of what they wanted most._

And then there she was, Ahiru. If she was trying harder he couldn't tell and if she wasn't it only made her more interesting. Pique was to the side but he hardly remembered her. She hadn't loved him enough, useless thing. Lillie wasn't even worth a glance her heart had never been so much as gleamed at him. With a hurtful realisation Mytho discovered Ahiru had yet to even look at him as anyone else. The anger flared then subsided, she'd look soon enough anyway he commended himself.

"He reached for her unsteady hand and wrapped an arm around her ill located waist.

"More like this..." He corrected her posture, bringing her arm further out and holding her abdomen a little closer. The classroom fumbled a little, forgetting what they were meant to be doing in favour of watching gossip as it happened, but Mytho didn't pay attention to them in the slightest.

Ahiru struggled a little, heat rising to her cheeks. Great, not only had Mytho said something without Fakir being there he'd also come this close.

_Argh, what am I going to do!_

She jumped away from his loose grip,

"M-Mytho, T-That's so kind of you but Pique and Lillie are helping me enough, I don't want to trouble you. There are lots of other girls who Senior Mytho could help-"

Somewhere behind her Lillie squeaked "Ahiru...lost cause" at Pique.

Twirling her around Mytho didn't bother to hide his intention and grabbed her a little closer, bringing a hand up to pat her hair and frame the portrait of himself reflected back at him through the large blue eyes.

"But shouldn't I help you?"

His tone had a hypnotic ring to it which, had this been a normal girl would have drawn her to him. The beginning of his heart stealing parade.

Rue cut in now, leaping to her lover's side in a single bound which caused half the class to gape in awe of her form and perfect landing.

"Mytho, what are you doing?"

Only he would hear the vehemence within the question. Hadn't they talked over this? He couldn't steal Ahiru's heart, couldn't! Not for the first time he sent her an evil glare which reminded her horribly of the large glowing eyes which often accompanied visits down into that deep cellar. When would her prince listen to her and love her? Her eyes welled with the unshed words and desperation she dare not voice. Even if she wanted to tell him that awkward little goose in front of him was tutu how could she was so many people around them both?

"Ahiru, dance with me?"

That woke Ahiru up somewhat; dancing with Mytho had always been a dream. She'd longed to hear those words but not in that voice, not so coldly! If Mytho was doing this because he had remembered himself would he have really asked so formally? Why was it always a heart related thing? Why couldn't she, as Princess Tutu, do anything? She shook her head and broke the spell he'd cast over her for a while, much to his aggravation. She hadn't talked to him yet...much. Maybe Fakir wouldn't get angry and Fakir wasn't here she couldn't. She chanced a glance at Rue who also seemed to upset to do much but stare downcast at the ground.

Instead this only seemed to anger the prince and she saw it within his eyes, like a small flame erupting.

No, no!? How could she say no? She had to love him; he had to have her heart! He wasn't useless like Rue. This girl was already infatuated with him so why was she making this so difficult?

"Dance with me!"

This was a command now and his anger gave him a power which he could wield easily. Anger provoked the raven's blood within him and he used this to fully overthrow the girl's thoughts. She'd dance with him and he'd know how best to approach her for that heart of hers. How the black dye was to be mixed and stirred in which to dip her heart in.

Her eyes glazed over for a second, the recognised sign that she was well and truly now delighted with his offer. He matched the smile, though his was of victory.

"Ah, I'd rather you not dance with Ahiru Senior Mytho. She must dedicate herself to her studies more and-"

Another death glare from his majesty at the cat, who promptly went cold and began rolling on the floor like the animal he was. Why were there so many distractions today? For a moment he feared he'd lost Ahiru's attention again but, feeling the warmth of her hand in his, he laughed mirthlessly and lead her away from the bar under the incredulous gaze of their peers and the hopeless gaze of the raven's daughter.

The piano struck up a tune.

For a moment the class starred. As always when in capable hands Ahiru seemed to shine and under Mytho's gaze she the morning star looking down upon the rest of the night sky. His amethyst eyes held up and within him Mytho felt for a second the inkling of what may have been regret to halt the possible rise of a star. She was perfect for the raven's sacrifice.

He watched her dance and as they danced their pas de deux she became easier to read, a puppet within his hands.

"Ahiru...What do you dream of?

"I dream of..." She closed her eyes. She dreamed of a world where everyone was happy and safe. Where Rue and her were friends again and Fakir didn't have to feel responsible for not knowing what to do. She dreamed of marrying the prince and saving him from the raven. Mytho. Far off a memory returned...back when she was just Ahiru and not princess tutu as well, when even being a duck had seemed a dream.

"_To dance a pas de deux with Mytho, that is something I'd give my life for."_

"Do you want to dance with me? Like this, forever Ahiru?"

She nodded. That's what she really wanted; she wanted Senior Mytho to be ok, and to dance with her. Not Rue and not princess Tutu, just Ahiru.

"Together Ahiru, we could do that. We could dance something no one's ever seen before. It's such a simple wish, do you suppose anyone else could be so selfless as to ask for something so easy to grant?"

"But what about Rue?"

"What about Rue? Wouldn't she be happier if we could do that? Inspire happiness within everyone, just the two of us. We wouldn't need anyone else."

Ahiru faltered something about the way he said it made everything seem all right. Rue's love could be replaced; she was just a duck after all. And it was the only thing Ahiru had ever wanted, to see Mytho smile and dance with him when he was lonely out on that lake. Was it really ok to think like this?

He twirled her again and held her back while she fell to the floor, arms reaching downwards and caressing the tiles.

"Who else could do that Ahiru? Without me you could never do it. Don't you see?"

Ahiru's eyes closed for the second time. Mytho was right. She was just Ahiru, a horrible dancer. With Mytho she could do anything, she could be better than Tutu or Kreahe. Just for Mytho, no, because of Mytho. She wanted to dance with him forever and he wanted her to. The only thing in their way was everyone else. Everyone he thought he was evil or above her or didn't belong with her. Even Fakir hadn't wanted her to talk to him; didn't they see this was the only way they could all get along?

"From now on Ahiru love only me. Everyone else is your enemy."

The words were on her lips before she could even think straight, not that she was meant to be thinking straight under Mytho's raven guided words.

"Yes. Everyone is the enemy. I will love only-"

"Mytho!"

Unaffected by Mytho's behaviour Rue had seen the lines which would lead to the death of the much needed Princess Tutu, the tool which her father had deemed irreplaceable. She'd waited the entire dance to see if Fakir would show up, Fakir would know what to do, she couldn't hurt her prince, couldn't! Now, almost a moment too late, she had disrupted the sequence which would have lead to Ahiru's demise by flinging herself at her prince and sending him and his partner flying away from each other.

The class too broke from a stupor induced by the rare sight of Mytho dancing with a startlingly gifted Ahiru, who would have thought? Rue turned to look at Ahiru who seemed to have fainted under such influence. Her prince on the other hand was not so easily done away with. His eyes were a crimson mixed with the usual purple. Anger and frustration issued from his being, directed mostly at the interference.

He got up, stalked over to rue who trembled in her shoes, at a loss as to what to say to him for once. He was clear and concise, using a tone which reminded her of her Father than she ever thought Mytho could possibly do.

"If you ever do that again I'll leave you."

He walked out as poised as he had entered with, only the half sobbing Rue following him indicated anything of interest had happened in the classroom.


	7. Chapter 6

Princess Tutu

Chapter of the Fledgling

Act 18.5 最も純粋な中心

le coeur le plus pur

{ The purest heart }

I can not thank all those who review and fave and alert enough, you are all the most inspirational people and it is you who motivate me every time i think 'gee i should work on that' Thanks so much again.

Please enjoy this segment i have a lot of spare time on my hands right now so I will now officially be trying to update every week. Lastly Fakir was not in the last scene as if you'll recall Mytho and rue entered before their class started, why would fakir show up early to hang with Ahiru? Also it's not my assumption Fakir is is advanced class with Mytho and rue. Yeah he's good but they've never mentioned him being in the same class have they? But he is above Ahiru's level thus why we don't see her with him either. My writing style has changed. Bleh!

; watching tutu, I want to hug raven Mytho and Rue. Why must they be fictional!

**I do not now, nor ever will or have previously owned Princess Tutu. The rights belong to Ikuko Itoh, Junichi Sato and the many other incredible minds who worked on this amazing anime! **

"Miss Ahiru? Ahiru?"

Wha-what?

"Ah it looks like you're regaining consciousness"

Ahiru blinked wide blue eyes open, for a moment she couldn't think straight. Words..a voice..ideas kept coming to her. She had been dancing with Mytho...she'd been so happy?

A shadow blotted out the light, bringing her mind back to the present, dissipating the previous thoughts and banishing them to the land of the forgotten. The goose nurse's long neck bowed over, close to Ahiru's head and she honked in a reproachful way startling the young patient.

'Did you hear me?"

"W-what? Oh..no sorry" The nurse sighed and rolled her eyes unsettlingly before grabbing a notepad down from her shelf, with her beak of course, to write a note excusing Ahiru for the rest of the day.

"I said you just over did yourself. Rest a little for the remainder of the day and you should be fine." There had been other symptoms nurse Goslling had noticed, but nothing modern medicine could treat, they'd yet to invent a cure for love sickness and given that it'd supposedly been senior Mytho with her when it happened she wasn't surprised, even she got a little flustered when the youth visited her office. Though he rarely did. She tore the slip from the notebook, offering it up and flapping her feathers uselessly to usher the young girl out. It was odd but she felt almost motherly towards the girl, more so than usual. Like she'd been looking after one of her own...aha must be getting clucky.

With note in hand Ahiru exited, resting her back against the closed door. Er...but did she get out of detention now or what? She couldn't even really remember what had happened. She'd been practising and then...Mytho and then? A purple fog seemed to cloud her memory of it.

Whatever it meant something strange was definitely going on!

Eep! The thought hit her suddenly hit like an icy shower. Ah, she'd been alone with Mytho! Talking to Mytho...without fakir! Ah, he'd be so angry when he found out. Oh gosh, oh drat, what would she tell him? That's it she was getting right on damage control. Outside somewhere the clock chimed four. Ok so he'd still be somewhere around the academy...she hoped.

"Why had she done that!"

Mytho's iron grip dug into the wall like talons, his other hand clutching his shirt and twisting the material. He and Rue had left together but he'd disappeared in a blur of feathers the moment they were out of public sight, she sobbing and he refusing to acknowledge her. For the first time he felt confused about Kraehe. Her feelings had always been true and belonged to him, he cared little for the crow's feelings but they were his! It was...He gasped as purple eyed faded to honey yellow then back again. As the pain subsided a smile eased his features and a dark chuckle escaped his lips. Of course, it would be...so simple.

Rue bit back a sharp cry of pain, though nothing could cause her more hurt than the way Mytho had spoken to her, ignored her. He was so angry...so hurt. But she had saved him, he didn't know but he'd been so close to...

Pathetic that's what he must have thought of her. Clinging to some idiotic friend like Ahiru.

She had fled to the top of the west gate around town, finding solace in the silence that the blackbird escort afforded her. Through her tears she wondered where her prince may have vanished off to, the dorm perhaps? Setting to destroying anything he could get his hands on? A-after Ahiru again? She pulled her knees in tighter. What could she do...what?

Fakir stared out the window towards the horizon, a group of birds took off from the western side but they were too far for him to recognise them as anything, raven or not. It was sunset, most of the classes had left already, from the far side of the school he could hear the sound of music drifting across the courtyard. The bell tolled five. There was so much on his mind lately, the flashes from books he got occasionally, the torn pages, the feeling of being watched, Mytho and Kraehe, and now Ahiru seemed unable to look after herself...As the gentleman had begun to think he had taken to the floor in a rare display of his own prowess, finding strength in his limbs and working on balance. Ballet was like the dance of a swordsman in battle, endurance, inner strength, form. It kept him on the top of his game at least.

He dropped to the floor, slightly out of breath but satisfied, letting his thoughts focus on controlling his breathing. The shadows being cast on the walls loomed at him, longer and distorted due to the setting sun. Mytho...Ahiru..He closed his eyes, feeling an uneasy quiver in the air, he jerked his head to the left towards the windows only to find empty space. Vainly he scoured the area with his eyes, propping himself up on his elbow and standing.

"Hello? Who's there?"

There was no reply, in truth he hadn't expected one. Looking down at the ground he wondered why the feeling kept returning then leaving as it did, more Raven tricks?

Speak of the devil...

From the opposite side a bemused laughter carried across the tiles. From the shadow Mytho brazenly walked out, his hands slowly clapping in mock approval. The two hadn't been alone in the same room since Fakir had returned to school after being accused of pushing the senior out a second story window. A real friendship ender really.

"Bravo Fakir, bravo..."

"Mytho..." Fakir greeted his friend with a weary caution, they both knew Fakir was unable to fight for fear of hurting the true prince, but wasn't stupid enough to let his guard down around anything with an affiliation with The Raven.

"I didn't think you'd be here. Alone."

The friendly tone was wasted on Fakir's steady features and stony facade. But what was Mytho doing here? Kraehe wasn't around he noticed. The slim pale haired boy came to lean against one of the banisters, back towards the mirrored wall. For a moment the two simply faced off, neither breaking the palpable intensity within the air.

"What do you want!" Fakir spat at last, unable to control his feelings..to see Mytho staring with such coldness, emptiness, the good within him all but diminished. Mytho's smile seemed to grow because of it.

"Have you seen Ahiru?"

fakir flinched at the sudden mention of the duck turned girl, recalling how she had hurried into his kitchen all flustered only yesterday ranting about the persons now before him. He had suspected...Was Mytho after another heart so soon? And what did Ahiru have to do with...

"Ahiru!" The thought suddenly clicked within him. A fight, between Rue and Mytho which had ended when Mytho had talked to Ahiru? He frowned, taking an offensive stance between the doorway and Mytho, aiming to intimidate with his proximity, though the prince laughed at the rouse.

"Have you seen her?" He repeated the question, rhetorical now that the knight's expression had given away his sentiments. He chuckled mirthlessly once more, twisting to the side of Fakir with ease, yet maintaining that frightening grace that fell to him so easily with the raven's blood within his heart.

"What a useless knight. Well...if you see her tell her I'll be waiting by the lake. She's usually around you, isn't she?"

Message delivered Mytho strolled out the room leisurely, the two keeping a close eye on each other until the oak door slammed shut between the two. Fakir waited a moment, listening intently for the fluttering of feathers falling through the air. He opened the door ajar, his toe nudging the stem of a black feather as he stepped into the hallway, the sun now falling at an alarming rate. He had to find Ahiru first, It seemed almost a life and death situation if he wasn't the first to get to her!

A slow mirthless grin masked the normally uninterested pale feature of Mythos, watching the back of the ill fated, yet incompetent, knight run down the hall at full speed. One down...

Kreahe had stepped down from the high walls of the gate, her hair falling in tumbles behind her, the form of Rue once more. The avian escort cawwed overhead as the night began to descend. Another day, and no hearts once more, though it seemed as if her prince had his way there might never come a day where they could all at last be happy. Father, Herself and Mytho...happy. She shook her head, it was too soon to think of such things and too much trouble was brewing. She wandered through the town, reaching the darkened halls of her own feathered dorm and collapsed on her bed. What use was being Kraehe if she couldn't have the prince. What use was kreahe if she couldn't stop him eating Tutu's heart? What use was kreahe! At this last thought she thrust herself upwards, taking off her shoe and throwing it against the wall, though there was little satisfaction in the dull thud it made on contact.

What use was Kraehe? What use?

"What's wrong?"

The lilting voice of her prince came stealthily through the door, his figure following soon after. She noticed the unbecoming smile, the one that usually preluded to a heart snatch or an infamous rage. She bulked at the unusual cheer, raising her eyes to look at his striking figure half heartedly. The day thus far would have predicted his actions to be full of malice and spite, yet no such aura emanated off him.

The soft whoosh of the cushion in the corner of the room let her know he had taken a seat, she slipped off the bed and slid out of her remaining shoe, sauntering over to pick up the other and putting the pair together, Mytho pouring himself a glass of water from the jug kept on the stand next to the chair. Long ago she had prepared a gem called love there, bathing it in raven blood. It had seemed so simple then.

"There's a heart..."

"Mm?" Kraehe turned curiously towards him, tilting her head to the side. In response Mytho looked bored and disinterested.

"I don't feel well...my...aah ARG!" His eyes clenched shut, doubling over as his hands scrambled desperately at his chest. The colours of his eyes blazed gold for but a few moments, long enough for him to look at her with a gaze that beheld all his suffering, before they became a light show of purple and yellow. A dark and a light.

"Rue.." He gasped in a final attempt, his form slumping against the fragile frame of the chair while his form trembled as if blown by a gale.

"A heart...By the lake." He let his gaze fall on her. Kraehe, her eyes wide with terror and concern, fallen to her knees and soothing him with words of a kindly future. Promising yes, she'd go to the lake and try..try for him, for father. He felt the touch of her gentle hand alleviate, the cry of her pain as flash of light as she stepped into black shoes that tore at her skin like thorns before she flew ff into the night. Princess Kraehe, off to do her prince's bidding.

He opened one perfectly clear Amethyst eye, easily shoving the prince's pure intentions aside in the same manner he had done before again and again whenever Tutu showed up. Did she still think him so week? Pathetic.

Outside the window he noticed a starless sky under the watch of a new moon. Perfect darkness. A perfect night to extinguish the light of a perfectly pure heart.

"Ahiru..." He whispered, almost feverishly, licking his lips like a mongrel starving for flesh. "Ahiru!" This time a shout, maniacal laughter following and echoing about the now empty room, the wind casing the feathers about the small abode to rise in the current then drift slowly back down to the now unoccupied space.


End file.
